Jazz at Lincoln set for Qatar debut

Doha, September 12, 2012

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, is gearing up for the launch of region's first Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) club in Doha next month.

The 4,500 sq ft jazz club, designed by Wilson Associates, will bring a continuous lineup of world-class jazz artists and educators to the people of Qatar. It can seat up to 100 guests in a theatrical ambience that recalls a legendary jazz venue of the golden era.

Featuring live performances six nights a week with a menu inspired by the musical genre, JALC Doha offers spectacular views of the Gulf in an intimate setting.

The club will open its doors on October 4 with a live performance by the Wynton Marsalis Quintet, featuring members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Announcing the JALC launch, Paul James, the global brand leader, The Luxury Collection and St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, said, "The Doha debut marks the first in a series of jazz clubs that St. Regis and JALC aim to create together as part of a unique global partnership announced last year."

The JALC debut coincides with the opening of The St. Regis Doha earlier this year, further solidifying Qatar as an emerging center of culture, commerce and leisure in the Middle East, he remarked.

“In the spirit of jazz ambassadors – Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, and Dizzy Gillespie – we continue the legacy of bridging cultures around the world through JALC Doha, the first Lincoln Center branded venue outside of New York City,” said Wynton Marsalis, the artistic director, Jazz at Lincoln Center.

"Opening this club enables us to extend the joys of jazz to a broader audience. We’re thrilled that Omar Alfardan shares our vision of music as a way to find common ground. We are proud of this partnership," he observed.

The opening of The St. Regis Doha marks the brand’s first hotel in Qatar, ideally located within Doha’s newest waterfront destination at Al Gassar Resort between the city’s cultural heritage sites and its emerging commercial hub.

“Jazz is the soundtrack of St. Regis, as appealing to today’s global luxury travelers, as it was to New York’s high society who frequented the rooftop ballroom at the landmark hotel in the 1930s to listen to Count Basie, Buddy Rich and other Jazz Age greats,” said James.

“As we open the doors of Jazz at Lincoln Center at The St .Regis Doha, we are thrilled to welcome the next generation of jazz legends to the stage,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service